Play by Heart: True Ending
by lancecorporaldororo
Summary: Story based off of the game Play by Heart on Newgrounds I wrote this based on how i played the game the first time. Rated T for language. Written from Dirk's POV.


**Disclaimer: All Homestuck characters belong to Andrew Hussie and Play by Heart was created by alphastarr on Newgrounds.**

* * *

I was peacefully sleeping in my bed until some asshole started shouting. "Get yer ass up boy, the boss needs to see you fer something!" Said asshole's name was Hearts Boxcars, he's one of my fellow Midnight Crew members and has a special kind of hatred for me-one that is absolutely and completely inexplicable. I started to get out of bed and as usual Boxcars was being extremely impatient.  
"C'mon runt let's move it or I'll really thrash you"  
"I'm going." I said getting out of the bed.  
He shook his head. "Slow as godamn molasses."  
"I said I'm going. Don't lose your head, dude."  
He stared at me for a moment. "I hope Slick knifes ya you little shit."  
I shook my head and headed towards where Slick was, Boxcars' wishes have a good chance of coming true, I have no idea what Slick wants, but I stayed on my guard as I approached him, Not that I'm not always.  
"Took you long enough kid." Slick said as I approached him.  
"Pretty sure it didn't actually take more than a couple of minutes, but whatever you say, Boss." I responded.  
"You better cut the sass twerp or I'll cut it out for you." Slick snapped. "I've got an important job for you so listen up. You're going to take out the English kid."  
I tilted my head. "What?"  
"The worthless offspring of that miserable green asshole. The one that's the biggest goddamn imbecile I've ever had the misfortune of interacting with." Slick said.  
"You mean Jake?" I asked.  
"We don't gotta make this complicated with the name of the kid we just gotta make him dead. It's about damn time we offed em, we're gonna destroy the Felt once and for all. It pains the hell outta me to admit it, but I can appreciate the way you work kid. You ain't as completely worthless as I thought, so I'm giving you this hit and hoping you don't screw it up." Slick said.  
"So you want me to kill Jake?" I asked.  
"Don't make me repeat myself, now enough of this bullshit go murder that brat and then get your ass back here." Slick said.

I pondered on this for a moment. "Alright." This wasn't exactly what I had planned, but I've been given my objective so that's at least a start. I entered my room to gather my equipment and thoughts before I went into hitman mode. As expected, the place is fully equipped with stereotypical mobster paraphernalia: guns, cigars, a switchblade, glass bottles with what might be moonshine, more guns. Damn there are a lot of guns...there's also a closet with clothes in it. Anyways, I took one of the guns that I thought would fit my hand the best, it's not really my style, but it's all I've got, with any luck I won't have to use it. I also take my switchblade, which is as close to a kantana as I'm going to get. then I went to the closet and pulled out a double-breasted trench coat and put it on, I reached into one of the deep pockets and found something in one of them...it was a Jack of Hearts playing card I decided to keep it with me and hit the streets to find Jake.

I left the Midnight Crew hideout and wandered down the sidewalk while thinking over my current problem, the problem being that I had no idea where Jake was. There were a number of places that the esteemed Felt member could be hiding out. Truly the options are staggering, especially considering the nature of my target and my mind is drawing a complete and total blank. A guy like Jake could certainly get around. I feel that it would be best to seek some advice and come up with a plan before I make my move. After all I of all people know better than to dive into a situation without being fully informed first. Thankfully I remember just the person to go to in a situation like this, my feet seem to know where to take me as I am now standing outside a very familiar bar.

I entered the bar and observe the mixture of human and carapace patrons, there's a carapace behind a piano, playing a jazzy ragtime number. I glanced around and spotted a familiar face behind the bar and approach it.  
"Hey there, Rox. How's business?" I ask.  
"Diiiiiiiiiirk 333 Long time no see! Buisniss is good (*business) U know me I keep things real, real boozed up!" Roxy said.  
I watched her maneuver around the bar, picking up glasses with practiced ease. She pours some kind of amber liquid on the rocks and slides it my way. I accept, picking up the glass and taking a measured sip. It burns my throat and warms my stomach and I fight the urge to wince at the aftertaste as Roxy grins cheekily at me.  
"So wat brings u round these parts?" Roxy asked.  
"What besides seeing a pretty face?" I said smirking.  
"O shaddup I know you, sumthin must be up right?" Roxy said.  
"Ah, you caught me, I'm looking to scope out some intel on a job I'm working, think you can help me out?" I asked  
"Can't make any promises, but I can see what I can help you with, lots of juicy gossip around here. Plenty a people here gots sum pretty loose tongs after a few drinks (*tongues) u'd be surprised what I know." Roxy said with a wink.  
"That's what I'm counting on, I have business with one Jake English do you happen to know where he's been hiding nowadays?" I asked.  
Roxy frowned a little. "Aww, now u know I can't go giving out information like that to rival gang members, it could cause all sorts of trouble for my bar, you know this is neutral territory Dirky."  
"Yeah, yeah I know, I'm not looking to cause any trouble for you, if you can't say, you can't say. But you know someone who can right?" I said.

Just then Jane Crocker arrived at the bar and came over to where Roxy and I where.  
"Hey there Janey." Roxy greeted her. "Dir-Stri I think this might be just the gal u're looking for, but u didn't hear it from me okay." Roxy said winking and returning to tending her bar and patron leaving me to regard Jane Crocker.  
"So I hear you're in some need of assistance Mr. Strider." Jane said turning to me.  
"You hear correctly Miss Crocker. Can you clue me into the whereabouts of our mutual acquaintance, Jake English?" I asked.  
Jane raised an eyebrow. "Before I do that, what is the nature of this business you have with Mr. English?" She asked. "I know your type Strider, how do I know that you're not a catalyst for another full out gang war? It's been relatively quiet between your groups, I'm getting a little suspicious.  
I didn't want to tell her my true motives so I lied like a bitch.  
"I'm looking to strike a deal, extend an olive branch, as it were, from one gang to another, find a compromise so that we could split out turf and leave each other the hell alone, once and for all."  
Jane was still suspicious. "This doesn't sound like the usual work of Mr. Slick. Are you working on this on your own this time?"  
"Yeah, you could say that. I've got plans of my own, and quite frankly, I don't give a shit about what McStabby has to say about it."  
Jane relaxed and smirked a little. "Well, whatever the case there's only one place Jake English has been hanging around lately. He's been keeping a suspiciously low profile. If you want to find him you'll have to scope out the Felt Mansion."  
Shit, that's all I need right now, to go into to heart of a rival gang's territory in order to off their second in command. Ah, whatever I've faced worse odds than this plenty of times before, so I got this.  
"Thanks Jane I owe you one."  
"And don't you forget it Strider!" She said laughing a bit.

I left Jane to her drink and nodded my goodbye to Roxy as I head out the door, tucking my hands into my pocket as the cool night air hits me again. The Felt Mansion was on the other side of town so I had quite a bit of walking to do before I finally arrived there. Felt Mansion is unmistakable; a huge, hideous building on the edge of town. It's a familiar sight, but not because I gallivant around it frequently. In fact a Midnight Crew member such as myself generally keeps the fuck away from all Felt territory. Messing around with the rival gang's turf inevitably leads to violence and though I am a hitman, I'm certainly not stupid enough to kick a wasp's nest...well not until now, I guess.

Using my stealth I entered the mansion, I need to be as quiet as possible and find Jake as fast as I can, as this is pretty much the number one place I should never be and I am reluctant to even breathe for fear of being caught, from my current location I can see a staircase and a closed door. The only sound I can hear is ticking; a constant tick-tick-tick, loud, like every single clock in the place is completely in sync, and there are a lot of clocks here. I wonder how Jake handles this constant noise; it's extremely grating and makes me uneasy, but I'm going to have to focus past it. After all I have a job to do and am no one to let sometime as minor as time get in the way. As I ascend the staircase I think that there's probably something that could be said about them, but it doesn't seem relevant. After all I can't think of anyone who keeps falling up the-oh, nevermind, Roxy does that. At the top of the stairs there's a hallway with a room on both sides, the door on the left is slightly ajar and the other door is closed. I decide to check out the door that was slightly opened, there's just enough of a crack for me to peer into the room. Is this creepy? Probably. Do I care? Fuck no. It takes a few seconds for my vision to focus but when it does I am able to make out a sliver of a figure with its back turned to me. It shifts ever so slightly, moving in and out of my line of sight. I have seen enough to know that there is an excellent chance that the unruly mop of dark hair and green shirt I am peeping on belongs to my target, now of course is the matter of what I should do about this. I think it over for a moment and sneak into the room with some of my infamous Strider stealth. I'm like an audio ninja; nobody can get the dirt on me. I'm clean as a fucking whistle, except a lot quieter. A whistle that overcame a major substance abuse problem, trying to get its life back on track. This whistle is holding down a steady job now, taking things one day at a time. You can eat a fucking dinner off this whistle. Speaking of things I could eat a dinner off of, I caught a nice eyeful of that round English ass. His whole figure gyrated as he engaged in sloppy makeouts with...a sunbleached poster of a flapper. Well...I can't pretend that isn't weird, but hey, I'm the guy with the fetish for horses and puppets. I am thankful for my trench coat as Jake English is basically a one-way ticket to Boner City, and the way his dress pants cling to his derriere isn't helping the fact. I am equally grateful that English hasn't noticed me, and I feel the nagging sensation to tell him to be more like Jane-aware of his surroundings. I watched him as things start to get romantic between him and the poster, he seems to be really getting into it, smooching and caressing the flat paper attached to his wall and he ignores me completely as he tenderly gazes into the cerulean woman's eyes...Way to make a guy feel special, English...Either way, while I'm here, I decide to snoop around a little. It's not like I haven't already violated his privacy to the maximum extent. I look over to where he's off fantasizing with the poster...Yeah, okay, he's definitely not going to notice me anytime soon. I noticed an opened envelope on his nightstand and proceed to read its contents, the thick paper and regal calligraphy denote its importance, it reads: _'Dear Mr. Jake English, mister and miss C. Umbra cordially invite you and one guest to their annual gala that will take place this Friday, April 13, 1928 at Calmasis Villa on Broadway, beginning at seven o' clock in the evening, refreshments will be served, formal attire is requested, please show this invitation at the front gate to be admitted.'_

I glanced around the room and noticed a pile of guns, and holy shit was it a lot of firearms, but then again it's nothing that I didn't already know. I take a closer look and see that they all have the safety on, and nearly all of them are unloaded. The boxes of ammunition strewn about the room, presumably, are supposed to be the bullets. I noticed a box in a corner of the room and went over to check out its contents, it looks like gunpowder, I try and suppress it, but the fine, flammable substance makes my throat itch and I cough quietly and accidentally draw attention to myself. At the quiet noise, Jake's romantic overture with his poster comes to a screeching halt and he looked at me with a shocked look on his face.  
I smirked a little. "Are you done romancing your cerulean lady yet?"  
"Great Scott! God's green garterbelt, how long have you been standing there?" Jake asked his cheeks flush with embarrassment.  
I shrugged. "A couple of minutes, I was going to wait for you to be done, but you didn't look like you were going to stop anytime soon."  
Jake was still blushing, but smiled." Oh, very well then. What business brings you here?"  
I decide to tell him the truth, not the part about being sent to kill him, of course-that would just result in one or both of us becoming swiss cheese-but the truth nonetheless.  
"I'm here to rescue you."  
He tilted his head. "Really?"  
"Yeah, I'm like a fucking Prince Charming all up in this horseshit."  
Jake sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness I was just about to have kittens! It's really the cat's pajamas that you happened to show up around now. I've got this gala thing at my cousins that I need to be at in... Jesus Kringlefucker Christ! Just two hours, I really really need a date, so how about it chum?"  
I smiled a little. "Sure, sounds great, I'd be glad to accompany you."Jake smiled brightly. "Spiffy! Thank you so much. Which reminds me, wherever have my manners gone? Gadzooks I nearly forgot the first thing Doctor Scratch taught me about being a host. I'll go get you some…err…What kind of candy do you like?"  
I tilted my head. "Candy? Uh, anything orange is fine with me."  
Jake smiled again. "Rightio! I'll be back in two shakes of a rabbit's tail!"

Jake leaves the room, giving me a couple of minutes to observe the…interesting posters he has on his walls. Most of them look to be movie posters or photos that have clearly been left out in the sun too long.  
"Alright I'm back! I hope you like gummies." Jake said handing me a bag of candy. "Sorry that there are so many green ones mixed with the orange, they just come in a package like that."  
"Hey, don't worry about it, I enjoy chewy, fruit-flavored candies of all varieties. I'm swooning English, you are quite the Casanova."  
Jake chuckled. "You're quite the joker Mr…I'm sorry it seems I've forgotten to ask your name."  
"Strider. Dirk Strider."  
Jake looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, that name sounds familiar….I can't seem to recall where I might've heard it before though…Anyways, it's very nice to meet you Mr. Strider."  
"Right back at you, English. So, why don't you tell me a little more about this gala?" I said smiling a little  
"Well it's held every April thirteenth by my cousins the Umbras. According to the invitation…Ah shitfelching hogmagundy, I can't believe I almost forgot! You wouldn't happen to have any clothes that are more towards the formal would you?" Jake asked.  
"Well, I can't say that I—English what are you doing?" I am suddenly minus one suave trench coat thanks to Jake.  
"Oh no this won't do at all….It's a good thing I picked this up, it's one of my suits, there's something important about it, but I don't really remember what right now. Stitch just repaired it for me."  
"Are you sure you want to give this to me?" I ask  
"Why of course, it's only the gentlemanly thing to do, besides I already have a different jacket picked out." Jake said.  
"All right, I'll keep it safe. We should probably get dressed now. Time's ticking."  
"Rightio mate! You can use the bathroom if you'd like, it's just down the hall and to the right."  
I nod and leave English to his own devices, heading out to freshen up and possibly redress. I did, after all, need to find new places for my weaponry. The two of us manage to get ourselves dressed and make it to the Gala in enough time to be considered "Fashionably Late". It seems that the party is already in full swing, with plenty of people already dancing, eating and drinking it up. I have to admit it's a pretty swanky party they have going on here. The Umbras sure know how to host an event. Speaking of which one of the illustrious hosts seems to have spotted Jake and quickly heads our way.  
"English, I see you finally showed up."  
"Ugh, not this guy, you'd better stay away from him Mr. Strider." Jake whispered to me before turning his attention to Caliborn. "And not a moment too soon my dear cousin."  
"What is this? You actually found a date? Or did they have to hire one again?" Caliborn asked.  
Jake was a little annoyed with the way Caliborn said that. "I'll have you know that Mr. Strider is here with me by his own free will!" He looked over at me. "You are right?"  
"Yeah, of course." I said.  
"Oh that's a relief!" He turned back to face Caliborn. "I can definitely get a date on my own!"  
Caliborn raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Then why doesn't he speak for himself?"  
"I don't really see a point in it. Jake knows I'm not being paid to be here, I know I'm not being paid to be here and I'm not in the mood to play any games. I'll verify that Jake said the truth."  
Before Caliborn could respond Calliope came over and greeted them. "Good evening, Jake! I hope you and your date are enjoying the gala!"  
"What are you doing here?" Caliborn asked a little irritated.  
Calliope put her hands on her hips. "I was under the impression I was a host too. Anyways, Jake it's very nice to see you again."  
Jake smiled. "Salutations Miss Umbra, we're having a smashing time, thank you. This is my date, Mr. Dirk Strider."  
Oh shit, while Jake didn't recognize my name, the Umbras might. I've been as careful as possible while putting my name out in the world. The few that would know my name, however, would know of my occupation. After all I didn't always work for the Midnight Crew. Miss Umbra seems completely oblivious, her brother however…  
"Dirk Strider, you say? I see, how very nice to meet you, Mr. Strider. What would you say to perhaps…playing a game?" Caliborn asked.  
"No thanks, I've got a date to take care of." I figured that it would be best if I play it safe for now. This Umbra character is a wild card that I didn't expect to show up in my deck, period. My passive aggressive statement should goad him into making the first move so I can figure out what kind of game he wants to play…Okay that and the fact that I don't exactly want to leave Jake alone.  
Jake smiled at me. "Thank you"  
Caliborn scoffed. "Fine, be that way, but mark my words, Strider. There will be consequences."  
Calliope all but dragged him to go greet other guests, leaving me and Jake alone once again. "I hope you enjoy your evening!" She called over her shoulder.  
I'll have to keep an eye on that Mr. Umbra, and his seemingly undying rage. At this point and tine, I can't tell whether he's trying to get me killed or solicit me for hate sex. Probably both…  
Jake sighed in relief. "Boy am I glad that's over, Calliope's nice, but her brother is a whole other story."  
"Hey, it's cool. How about we head out for refreshments or something?"  
"Splendid idea, Mr. Strider! Away we go!"  
I let Jake lead the way over to the food table. There seems to be quite the variety of food items and….not all of them are things that I would normally expect to see at such an event. There's the predictable punch bowl as well as candies, Jujubes from what I can tell, some little pumpkin pies and.…Is that….Raw meat? Really people?  
"Oh boy, they really have outdone themselves again! Just look at all this stuff! Go on then, why don't you try something?"  
I pick the pumpkin pie, since I'm not particularly up for Jujube's at the moment, they don't come in orange, anyways, and like hell am I going to eat raw meat, I draw the line at sushi, thank you very much.  
Jake perked up a little. "Oh that looks good, I think I'll have some too, I love pumpkins!"  
I frowned a little. "I know, I mean, I know they're delicious."  
Jake laughed a little. "Right you are Mr. Strider, they're quite pretty too, the orange pumpkins next to the green vines look lovely next to each other."  
"In my opinion, orange and green look nice together in general."  
The two of us arrange out plates of finger foods and find a secluded alcove away from the hustle and bustle of the Gala proceedings, but have a clear view of the dance floor. Everyone seems to be having a good time at least, I look between Jake, who has begun to stuff his face with food, and my own plate of pickings. I couldn't help but smile as I watched him dumptrucking the food into his mouth. It's been such a long time since I've seen him do this. He noticed me watching him and looked a little perplexed.  
"Uh, am I in a peep show now or something? Forgive the notion, but I'm getting from creeper vibes here."  
"Sorry, I've just mis—I mean, I just find it completely laughable that someone who claims to be so gentlemanly has such godawful table manners." I said smirking a bit.  
"Uh huh, says the guy who can't even enjoy a good shindig."  
"What makes you think I'm not enjoying myself?" I notice that he has food on his face and casually brush the crumbs from his chin with a napkin, which causes him to blush slightly.  
"What are you, my mother or something?" He said laughing a bit.  
"Nah, just a good friend." These words seem to hit Jake in an interesting way, though at first it appears that he wants to object to my statement, he slowly closes his mouth and turns his head down, looking confused and a little frustrated. I get the feeling that this is a good thing.  
"So about you having hired hates…"  
Jake looked even more frustrated. "Ugh, Strider what the hell are you going on that for?"  
"I was going to tell you that I was honestly surprised that was even a thing for you, because you seem like the type that everyone would fall for, but I guess I'm forbidden to be serious about that, so nevermind."  
Jake blushed. "Oh, well, um, thanks for that then, it's peachy."  
"No problem."  
He shifted his feet a little. "So….personally speaking, I make a tolerable date?"  
"So far? I'd say definitely tolerable, I might go farther than that, but we only just got here."  
Jake chuckled. "Well the night is young."  
I smirked. "Is that your way of saying you are planning on impressing me?"  
"So presumptuous, Mr. Strider, but maybe I will." Jake said smiling  
I smiled as well. "I'm looking forward to it."  
"So what about you?" Jake asked.  
I tilted my head. "What about me?"  
"Well, I barely know anything about you and I've been blabbing on and on about myself and others up until now." Jake said.  
"What do you want to know?" I ask.  
"Anything my date is willing to divulge." Jake said  
I smirked. "Alright, the carpet matches the drapes."  
Jake blinked. "Wha—Drik, really!"  
"Yeah, really, you wanna check for yourself?"  
Jake chuckled. "I'll heartily take your word for it pal, what a date!"  
"Suit yourself, but the offer still stands." I said.  
Jake nodded. "Okay, how about you answer me this, what's your…favorite hobby I guess?"  
I thought for a moment before answering. "I dabble in poetry."  
Jake chuckled. "Oh my, you're some sensitive poet all of a sudden?  
"All right, English, listen up, let me lay down the beat, cause when it comes to poetry I'll never face defeat. It's clear that in the end I'm completely unstoppable, spitting out rhymes so swag you'd think they're impossible."  
Jake blinked. "I have no friggin clue what swag means, but colored me impressed."  
"It's plausible that is why the ladies all swoon, but only for you I'd summon down the moon. You're setting my heartbeat waving like the ocean, palpitations of affections being set in motion, and the notion I've got for you is pretty sublime, I can only hope that it'll grow stronger with time."  
Jake blushed. "Land sakes alive…that sure is something. Do you wax poetics this way to all of your dates?"  
I smiled. "Consider yourself special."  
Jake smiles at me and it's difficult to maintain my pokerface when confronted with that hilariously adorable overbite. I think that maybe everything will work out after all.  
"It looks absolutely spiffing on you by the way."  
"What does?" I asked.  
"My coat." He said.  
I blinked. "Oh, thanks, though I've got to say that you really need to be more cautious with this, I'll protect it for you, Jake, but you can't expect others to do the same."  
Jake looked confused. "What are you blathering on about? It's just my coat…Oh, I get it, you're shy over thinking it looks like we've become too familiar already, worried about my father's view of your intentions or something? You can be such a cagey fella."  
Jake suddenly perks up and I follow his gaze to an extremely classy looking dame slowly approaching out location.  
"That lady there with the gams is an acquaintance that goes by the moniker of Snowman, I should probably entreat her for a dance." I decide to hang out in the corner while Jake dances. It's not that I couldn't find a dance partner if I wanted, or even that I'm not interested in dancing, I'm just better able to keep an eye on Jake from here. As I sip some punch, I covertly watch him grin dashingly as he swoops around the floor with Snowman…at least I was trying to until my line of sight was blocked by a red bowtie and green suspenders….goddamnit…  
"Hey fucker, we are going to dance, now." Caliborn said as he approached me.  
"Whoa there man, I'm promised to another, you know." I said.  
"You're full of shit, Strider, now let's go." It seems dancing with Caliborn is completely inescapable, he had a clawed grip on my arm as he steered me to the floor. I scope around for Jake, but I was being thrown into twirls and swings almost immediately, this dude is pretty aggressive with me, but I can deal with his shitty dance games, it's just I want to find Jake. I don't actually mind dancing with this douche, but I do mind that it's making me lose track of Jake…Caliborn immediately goes into this awkward aggressive shy mode, like dancing with me is incredibly obscene and it's totally turning him on. It would be vaguely amusing to mess with him in any other situation, but I have an important job to do right now. But I can't seem to find my target and every time I start to glance around Caliborn gets irritated, but thank god Jake wastes no time in pulling me off the dance floor and away from his fuming cousin.

"Some date you are Strider, a real peach, scampering off as soon as I turn my back. What do you have to say for yourself?" Jake asked after leading me to a balcony.  
I shrugged. "Hey, you were the one who left me all on my lonesome. What was I supposed to do?"  
Jake frowned. "I couldn't just leave a classy lady waiting, she's very influential hence being at this elaborate hootenanny!"  
"Relax Jake, I was just teasing you, I was fine with it."  
Jake blinked. "Oh, well how was I supposed to know when you're so damn aloof all the time?"  
I tilted my head. "I figured you'd know how to read my face by now."  
Jake shook his head. "Hardly, I can't see your dadblasted eyes, with those glasses you always wear."  
He held my face still with one hand as he used the other to remove my glasses and grips them tightly before shoving them into his suit pocket.  
"Is this better, can you tell what I'm thinking now?" I asked.  
"Hmm, maybe a tad, but you're still a terrible date."  
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I suck, because that's what it sounds like. You wouldn't be wrong, but I don't usually to do it on the first date."  
Jake's eyes widened. "Jiminy fucking Christmas! I'm not the sort to do that either you know."  
I smirked. "Oh, so you're one of those old-fashioned types, then."  
"Horsefeathers! I wouldn't say it's old-fashioned to appreciate someone's company first." Jake said.  
I frowned softly. "I'm not sure whether to be offended or not by the implication that you don't appreciate my company."  
Jake started to get a little flustered. "That's not what I intended to hint at all! I meant I don't think it's old-fashioned to get to know someone when I'm drawn to them."  
"I know you well enough to know that you mean "woo" when you say "get to know" and that's pretty damn old-fashioned, but I don't want to argue about it, I've always fou—I find it endearing."  
After the conversation lulls, I nudge him playfully and he looks at me for a moment before smiling and nudging me back. Though it's going to be difficult for me to judge how the entirety of the night has been going, right now, in this moment, Jake seems pretty content to be at my side. While we sit in comfortable silence, I am aware of him sneaking some intrigued glances at my orange eyes and when I finally turned my head to catch him in the act, he starts to blush and my heartbeat increases in response and when I subconsciously raise a hand to my chest, the pulse drumming under my fingers reminds me of how this all started, there's something important I need to tell Jake.  
"Strider? You look like you've got something on your mind, a penny for your thoughts?"  
Jake takes my free hand and gently squeezes it, he feels as real as anything but…  
"Jake, what would you do if I told you this was all a dream?"  
"Well golly, I'd tell you that it's a pretty swell dream, but what makes you say that?" He said.  
"Because you've bee comatose for four days and thirteen hours and this world is what you built while you were asleep, no one could figure out why you wouldn't wake up…..I don't even know how it happened, maybe it was too many hits to the head, or the stress of the game…You,….fell asleep on night and….I kept trying to wake you up but…." I clenched my fists and took a deep breath. "Four fucking days, I tried everything, but I couldn't figure out any way other than going to wherever the fuck it was you went. I thought maybe, if I was lucky, you had dreamt about me and created a splinter of myself here, I could use my power as a Heart player to physically enter your dream and merge with the splinter you created."  
Jake looked confused. "Splinters? Powers of the heart…? What on Earth are you talking about?"  
I sighed softly. "I know that right now this all sounds pretty crazy, on the other side, both of us have some pretty interesting abilities thanks to this game we're playing, it's pretty complicated….I'm just hoping that you'll trust me on this, you're asleep right now Jake and you need to wake up."  
Jake looks understandably poleaxed by all of this, I can tell that he's at least taking me seriously, but from the look in his eyes he still doesn't fully believe me.  
"So if this is all a dream….How would I go about waking up? Theoretically speaking of course."  
"Well….the dream took on a certain form when I entered it. You dreamed of a game, Jake. I'm playing that game right now, and I was given an objective….I'm assuming completing it will lead to you waking up."  
Jake seemed skeptical. "I don't know Dirk, this all seems a bit nutty."  
"I figured it would take you some time to realize it, think it over for now, there doesn't have to be any huge rush. Just know that I'm here to protect you and wouldn't do anything that was going to hurt you, alright?"  
"Alright Dirk, I'll think it over, in the meantime let's enjoy this evening, would you care to dance maybe?"  
I smiled at him. "I'd love to dance with you." I took him by the arm and followed him out to the ballroom, where the band is striking up a new song, slower than the previous jazzy swing. Normally I would think that dancing in a manner that made it unclear who was leading was confusing or awkward, but his arm on my back and mine around his waist seem to notch together comfortably, our bodies were scandalously close in an intimate, almost waltz-like position. Jake smiled and leaned even closer to me, a move I mirror to touch our foreheads together. As cliche as it is to say, the rest of the gala seemed to have vanished into vague background noise. The only music I care about is the beating of his heart in time with mine. The moment now is a moviesque scene ripped straight from the theaters. I slowly lowered my mouth in the direction of Jake's…..But I was interrupted by a loud, thundering BANG! It startled me out of my stupor, and made Jake jump in my arms. The front door has been blown open, shoved to either side as a hulking green figure dominates the doorway, oh shit…Lord English glances my way and I can see that he immediately recognizes just who I am and how my arms are wrapped suggestively around his "son". And judging by the look in those flashing pool-ball eyes, I have an upcoming date with the business end of Daddy English's tommy gun, every instinct I have is telling me to grab Jake and run for the exit. Jake had other plans, however, and before I could snag him he's pulling out of my grasp to greet his "dad".  
"Hello there father, your business went well I take it?"  
Lord English narrowed his eyes. "You there, son, what are you doing?"  
"Huh? How do you mean?" Jake asked confused.  
"What do you think you're doing with this disgusting boy here?"  
Jake blinked. "Father! I mean not to be ungrateful or anything, but you did hire him did you not?"  
I fight the urge to facepalm very, very hard, Jake is just digging both of our graves at this point, this situation couldn't possibly get any worse…except it apparently can, because before Lord English has a chance to advance on me any further, in bursts Slick, Droog, Deuce, and Boxcars, along with and armful of weaponry. Slick draws his gun and points it straight at Lord English and all activity in the room comes to a screeching halt, Slick cocked his pistol and I can see him thinking over some clever witticism to throw down in a moment like this, but then he glances over and spots me instead. Shit, shit, shit, shit  
"Hey kid, what's the big idea, why ain't the English kid dead yet? Thought I gave you a friggin job to do, better off the kid right now before I knife the both of ya, yer disgracing the name of the Midnight Crew."  
Jake turned to look at me with wide, hurt eyes and I feel my stomach bottom out. Now Jake knows I'm not only a member of the Midnight Crew, but one sent to kill him, and as an added bonus, my fellow gang members were readying their weapons and advancing towards Lord English, looks like we're about to have a full-fledged mob fight on our hands, Slick was still staring a hole in me as the first bullets start to fly.  
"Off this punk right now, or I'll do the both of ya in."  
With Slick staring me down and Lord English advancing, I saw only one plausible option available, it's not how I planned this to happen, but sometimes you've just got to improvise. I grab Jake by the shoulder and turn him to face me.  
"Jake, listen to me. I know that you think the story I told you is crazy, but you have to believe me, I would die for you a thousand times, I trust you with my life, now I ask that you please trust me with yours."  
Jake nodded. "I trust you, Dirk."  
Sudden relief flooded me at hearing him say this, he stared at me earnestly, and I grasped the handle of the pistol concealed in my pocket, I silently promise to make this quick.  
"It's going to be okay, Jake. We'll both wake up soon, cross my heart."  
Out of the corner of my eye I saw both Slick and Lord English bearing down on me, but it's too late now, I was about to complete my objective—the objective this game gave me. I whip the gun from my pocket and fire a shot through Jake's heart, point blank, he crashes backwards onto the floor, the shock in his eyes blanking as blood blooms across the breast of his jacket. His eyes dim and adrenaline pumps through my own veins as I come to terms with the fact that I just shot Jake English. I don't have time to dwell on this fact, because around me everything has suddenly stopped with Jake's death, figures around are frozen and everything suddenly becomes blurry, I feel like the floor has been pulled out from underneath me and then I was toppling forward, landing on top of Jake with my arm splayed across his chest, Jake's dream collapses and everything falls into blackness.

A few minutes later Jake and I woke up in his bed, gazing into each other's eyes.  
"Hey." I said.  
Jake smiled a little. "Hello there, that certainly was a crazy dream…"  
"Yeah, it was, only you could have come up with something that ridiculous." I said  
Jake laughed a little. "Yeah, I suppose so."  
"Thank you, though, for trusting me." I said.  
"Oh no don't you dare, you were the one coming to my rescue, I hardly think you need to thank me for that, so thank you Dirk, thank you for saving my life…" Jake's eyes start to water and before the tears start falling I reached up and wiped one away with my thumb.  
"Okay dude, no waterworks okay? You're safe, I'm safe, and everything's okay, right? Just like I promised."  
Jake sniffed. "Yeah, you did promise, you self-sacrificing idiot.  
I gently put a hand on his cheek. "Shhh, it's okay, Jake, I'm just happy you're back again."  
He's was on the verge of crying harder and that's just something I don't ever want to see him do, not after I finally have him back again, I cupped the side of his face and tilted his head towards me, and leaned forward and kissed him. He made a startled noise before leaning into it, his breath is warm on my skin and he could probably stand to brush his teeth after being asleep for so long, but it hardly matters to me. I was kissing Jake—who was very much alive and no longer a comatose vegetable lying limply in a bed—and I couldn't be happier that he's safe and in my arms, it takes us a moment to pull apart, because each time we tried, we just winded up kissing again, I'm so filled with relief and love for this crazy idiot that I can't quite think straight for once in my life.  
"I love you Jake."  
He laughed, a fluttering sound that I feel drift across my face.  
"Me too, love. Me too."

The End.

* * *

**A/N: Okay so there's two other endings to the game: a bad ending and another happy ending, I will write them and put them up when I finish.**


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